Baron’s 4th Birthday Party

The day finally came when Jack was cleared for physical activity (tender hearted Bear was very adamant that we wait to have his party until Jackson could participate) and we were able to have Baron’s birthday party.  He was super excited and had been wanting a gymnastics party for a very long time. 

All set up and waiting for friends.

Baron was obsessed with those short overalls and wanted to wear them everywhere.  His party was no exception.

Bear and Brynn.

Since I’m so behind and trying to get caught up, or at least close the gap, I’m just going to post the pictures and you can see all of the fun without me captioning each one.  They are pretty self explanatory

This face just melts my heart.

It’s so fabulous to see Jackson running, jumping and having a ball again.  I just adore this precious boy.

The party kids minus a few who had to leave early.

Bear with his best buddy, Clara.

Poor Jay had to miss the party because Lincoln still had the flu. I had been happy to miss Jimmy Kimmel but Lincoln was much improved and I really wanted to be at Bear’s party.  Jay was excited to help Baron assemble all of his gifts as soon as we got home that afternoon.

Once again, happy happy 4th birthday to someone who brightens our home and our hearts.  Baron, you are a gift from God and bring so much joy to our family.  We thank God for you each and every day!

4 years have flown by in the blink of an eye.  I’m so very grateful that I get to spend my days doing the most important job I’ve ever had. 

More of March. . .

I love that Lincoln does this pose all of the time.  And the fact that he does it all of the time you’d think I would have a better picture.  Nope.  But at least I can use this one to remember my sweetie 3rd boy and his gymnastics.

It’s a wonder that my kids are ever dressed!

I love mornings where we just lounge around for school.  Here Jack is helping Bear with his letters. 

And now for some history. . .Liberty’s Kids (US history series).

I am so thankful for these three precious boys.

Bear learning to ride a bike with no training wheels!

Sadly this is the only picture that I got from a super fun GNO with the ladies from our Sunday school class.  It was an Indian cooking class led by my friend, Supriya who is from India and cooks amazing Indian food.  Such a great time and I’m still so shocked by the extreme blessing of so many wonderful friends here in Austin.  God’s provision for us here is very plain to see in so many aspects of life.  Insane cost of living here is really the only thing that has been a disappointment.  Obviously I would love to be closer to family but

Our beloved (and dearly missed) babysitter, Amanda, has an older brother, Daniel who needed a place to stay for a few nights while he interviewed here.  We loved having him and he was so much fun with the boys.  Here are a few pictures of their sword fighting:

Crazy things happen to us occasionally, and I got a text from an acquaintance in Dallas who was in Austin for one night.  Turns out she needed a sitter for her two girls and Jay and I were happy to help.  As a thank you for watching her kiddos she gave us two VIP tickets to Jimmy Kimmel live in Austin with Willie Nelson.  We were SO excited for a fun (and FREE) night out together. 

Unfortunately, Lincoln got the flu (seriously!?!) that morning and had a 104 fever.  So, I stayed home with him (even if a sitter had been ok with a sick baby I wanted to hold him all night, poor guy was miserable) while Jay and our buddy Bryan had an awesome night out in Austin.

Pictures in the VIP line.

They said it was awesome.

JACKSON IS CLEARED FOR PHYSICAL ACTIVITY!

The day finally came that the neurologist cleared Jackson for physical activity.  It was like the sky opened up and a symphony of angels sang as the invisible straight jacket fell off of Jackson.  He was beyond elated. 

The neurologist said, “Jackson, you are a really fun and unique young man.  I hope not to see you in this office again but I do hope to see you.  I’m interested to see where life takes you, or where you take it.”  And without missing a beat Jackson answered, “Dr. Reardon, we’ve already met our out of pocket max this year, you’ll probably be seeing me again.”  Oh, Jackson.  The doctor laughed and said that was going to be his favorite kid quote to date.  I of course talked to Jackson extensively, as did Jay, about being careful with the one brain and body that God had given him.  I pray physical, emotional and spiritual protection for my boys each and every day, and man, I’ll never stop.  We have been so very blessed with such healthy and active children and I never want to take that for granted. 

Looking back it seems insane that this possibility had even occurred to me but, I had worried that after Jackson having been on such severe restrictions that when he was finally cleared for physical activity he would be timid and not the same little adventure man due to fear of being hurt again.  Obviously I want him to be careful but I didn’t want his spirit and spunk to be broken.  Hmmm, let’s just say that I couldn’t  have been more wrong.

So, the first thing that he did upon arriving home was to hop onto his pogo stick and get crazy.

Then he did “extreme racing” taking corners on his bike in crazy ways.  Yep, he did this to his right thigh a few hours after being cleared.

And then my favorite, the next day after I had told him to please be careful, he decided that this was a good idea. . .


That’s right, he pogo’d down the stairs.  When I said, “Jackson, you could die doing that!”  He merely responded, “but I might not.”  Ah, yes, thinking back on my concerns it makes me question my own mental acuity.  Of course, and thank God, Jackson will always be Jackson.
On day 3 he crafted a zip line in our backyard using a cord taken from our baby trampoline, pvc pipe and carabineer. 

Obviously the elastic cord wasn’t strong enough to hold him (or anyone) and he instantly sank to the grass.  But I think he still gets an A for effort.

And there ends our concussion experience.  Praise God that it’s over and that Jackson is doing just fine. 

Little Lincoln

***Yep, I’m still catching up.  This is from March. . .only 6ish months behind.***
Lincoln has a very strong personality.  He comes by it honestly and I know it will serve him well in life.  However, with his lack of verbal skills he’s pretty unhappy most of the time.  He signs “more” constantly when eating.  And, as I’ve mentioned before he gets VERY angry when I give him more of something he has just finished.  Clearly he wants more of something he had once, a month ago, at a restaurant.  I need an intensive course on deciphering what “more” means in relation to the 30,000 foods that Lincoln might be referring to.
On this particular day Lincoln was angry with me, not that that  narrows down the day by any means, and decided to try to use the shop vacuum to suck up anything that shouldn’t be sucked up.  He first chose the garlic salt pictured below.  Luckily my plans for the day consisted of nothing so the 45 minutes it took to get the garlic salt out of the tube (it was seriously wedged in there as if the Navy Seals had done it.  Crazily difficult to remove. 

You are probably thinking, “why would he even have access to the shop vac?”  Good question.  Remember the whole, “Lincoln is always mad at me for not knowing what he’s talking about” thing?  Yep, he throws food constantly when he is frustrated.  And honestly, I don’t blame him.  The poor little guy is advanced in processing so he knows what’s going on but he can’t communicate anything that he wants to say.  Combine that with the maturity level of a 1 year old and throwing food doesn’t seem so drastic.  So, my floor looks like this or worse about 5 times (3 meals and 2 snacks) a day.  The vacuum doesn’t get put away terribly often.  Oh yeah, and my floor always looks like the end of opening night at a movie theater.  It’s these types of days when I think we need a dog. . .of course then I look at the poop free backyard and quickly decide that the shop vac in the kitchen might be a sort of a style. . .toddler mom chic?!?

And, scar update!  Healing nicely but I wish my sweet buddy didn’t have to have such a huge scar all the way across his forehead.  Thankfully, at 6 he couldn’t care less!